The past few days were beautiful especially in the mornings! Fair winds and seas allowed anglers to get out and fish. Even the small boats reached out and got on the inshore bluewater hunt.

Al Stella was out Friday inshore-midshore trolling again (See August 7th Report), “No kingfish like last trip but I did score a real nice mahi that hit a green / yellow Zucker. Also had a few Bonita too. The water was 79 degrees and full of flying fish. Heard there was early bite on the Kings but I missed it.”

Chris O’Neill and friends pushed off in search of life and found it. “We fished about 15 miles off LBI. The water temperature was in the upper 70’s. Got two 50″ mahi, one bonita and four king mackerel. All on the troll. Anything green in the spread was good.”

Other customers in the shop restocking his fishing tackle shared bonita at the Ridge.

Max Lentz was out on the water and put a nice catch together on Friday… sea bass, fluke and a mahi!

We had a weigh in on Friday from Matt Sorrentino. He was out on the bay today working the waters of Great Bay. He caught a nice 19″ 4.04 pound triggerfish. He also reported loosing a good sheepshead.

LBI Late Summer Fishing Outlook

Summer’s in full swing and the local waters have A LOT to offer. It’s awesome to see all of these species here; banded rudderfish, black sea bass, blueclaw crabs, bluefish, bonita, cobia, fluke, kingfish, mahi, marlin (white and blue marlin caught offshore), sheepshead, spanish mackerel, striped bass, tog, tuna (yellowfin, bluefin and big eye), triggerfish, wahoo, weakfish and all sorts of sharks. Now’s the time to get out and enjoy the smorgasbord on tap.

The amount of bait in our waters is an amazing sight to see. The variety and abundance is promising. The bay is full of baby bunker, spearing, anchovies and snappers. In the ocean bunker is podded up and there’s clouds of bay anchovies and blankets of sandeels. The stage is set for a rocking fall run.

Fish Head Charters

The anglers aboard the Fish Head enjoyed fun fishing this week. With a variety of species there’s all sorts of fishing opportunities. From bucktailing fluke to fly fishing schoolie striped bass… light tackle bluefish to quick hitting sea bass… even night time toothy bayside brutes (brown sharks).

Resident striped bass continue to make their presence know with awesome light tackle game. Cocktail bluefish crash the party adding to the excitement. Fluke fishing is great on quantity but there’s no denying the quality isn’t where we would all like it to be. Some days putting together a catch of keepers is difficult especially with no drift.

Friday I had Mike Fitzgerald aboard today for a morning 5 hour power trip. We pushed off the dock at 5am, made bait (line baby bunker and snappers). Before the sun poked, Mike was into active fish casting lures. The top water feed put on a great “top of the morning” visual. After catching a bunch of cocktail blues from 1-4 pounds and bass, we switched gears.  With four nice keepers yesterday, we set our sights on the same reef site. First drop produced a keeper sea bass. It was full of life with short fluke and sea bass with little to no garbage. [I managed to hook an unexpected catch… a bonita on a Gulp! tipped jig. With 76 degree pretty bluewater only five miles offshore you never know what’s around.] As time went on the drift slowed and even  power drifting couldn’t outwit. With only a little time left in our session we decided to run back and give it a few drifts in the bay. We picked more a handful of fish in a couple short drifts but no quality. Everything considered it was a great day on the water with lots of fish caught and released.

Hot New Products

Jersey Fluke Belly

Jersey Fluke Belly is a 6″ soft plastic scented bait. It’s ribbed “ribbon” texture that looks and fishes like real fluke belly and it’s saltwater buffet scent attracts and makes fluke hold on. Unlike some soft baits, Jersey Fluke Bellies do not dry out. They stay soft forever in the jar or even on the hook when left out. Be sure to check them out to increase your fluke game!

NorthBar junior Bottle Darter

Please welcome the Northar Bottle Darter’s little brother. If you are looking for a small-medium sized lure that attracts big fish this is it!

The all new Northbar Junior Bottle Darter fills a huge need in anglers lure bags offering the same great casting, incredible action and durability, just in a smaller size and weight (1-5/8oz, 6″ long).

Devastation Down In Florida

I’m sure most have seen the devastation photos on social media. If you haven’t… sorry to be the bearer of bad news. The destruction is not from any storm but from water pollution. The fish kill caused by it is horrific and not localized.

Florida anglers are accustomed to red tide events. But no one has seen a bloom of this magnitude. Decades of fish stocks have been slaughtered. From bait fish to large game fish as well as marine mammals a diversity of species affected is astonishing.

For information about the problem check out this video from The Everglades Trust and be sure to follow Captains For Clean Water.

Here’s the Long Beach Island Fishing Report Update for Tuesday August 7, 2018.

The first half of summer is in the books and the second half is raging on. Today was the first sunrise in the six o’clock hour. Thursday will be the last sunset in the 8pm hour. With only 27 days to Labor Day now’s the time to get out on the water and enjoy fishing in the Long Beach Island area.

High pressure over the Wester Atlantic offers a good stretch of quiet weather. Get out and enjoy!

Inshore Fishing

LBI’s summertime inshore fishery is primarily made up of bottom fishing for fluke and sea bass. Rightfully so… they are both good eats! Right now the local reef sites are heating up and producing both species. The past weeks has offered good fishing for the anglers that are dialed in. With the August new moon on Friday we expect to see more fluke push out and onto the structure.

Store staffer Willie was out today fishing with some friends. He reported, “It started off slow with shorts and trash. Later in the morning we had a better drift and more consistent bite. Found a spot in 70′ of water holding nice fish. Most were caught on pink Gulp and large natural baits. The largest fluke was 26”.

Tog are also an option (as of August 1st, 1 fish at 15″).  The only reports we’ve received were from the Barnegat Inlet Jetty. Blackfish are present but no positive word on keepers. Expect the size to be small with the summer residents, but as time goes on and the waters cool the larger ones will pop in. Traditionally we can get a good jetty tog bite in September and October.

Al Stella enjoyed fun fishing with his wife on Monday. They pushed off looking for bonita. About 10 miles off they found 76 degree bluewater and went on the troll with feather chains and Clark Spoons on planers. They caught some KING MACKEREL as well as bonita! Here’s Al with a pair of Kings!

Surf Fishing

The surf fluke fishing continues with consistent fluke catches on the staple, bucktail jig tipped with Gulp. Anglers fishing live minnows have the advantage on slower days. One customer in the shop reported catching two shorts while another angler fishing close by had six in the same hour but on live bait.

Small blues and kingfish are also along the surf with occasional reports stretching the entire island. For those looking to fish the beaches right now, we suggest going early in the morning and/or late in the day to beat the heat and the beach going traffic. Targeting either Barnegat Light on the north end or Holgate on the south end might help but not much. Hunting down an open stretch of beach may be difficult but not impossible. When walking we suggest talking to the lifegaurd on duty. Introduce yourself and let them know your plans. It’s good when you’re on the same page. Hey you never know… they might tell you where they recently saw other anglers catch.

Offshore Big Game Fishing

The offshore and mid-shore big game fishing this season is  very good. Recently the chunk bite turned on and took it to the next level! Anglers fishing the tuna grounds are getting bloody with solid reports from the canyons as well as the 40 fathom line areas about 50 miles off of our local area. Pick your poison… all methods (troll, chunk, jig) are catching.

Captain Jeff on the Reel Innovation shared this report, “Bigeye, white marlin, blue marlin, tilefish and yellowfin rounded out our trip! The word is out about the yellowfin chunk bite as well as the big eye bite. Over a hundred boats were stacked up Monday morning. We fished hard and got the bites we needed.” First mate Dan added, “Marlin, tuna and tile action during the day and then then yellowfin tuna on the chunk and jig at night!”

Howard Clark was out on the mid-shore grounds recently. He reported lots of life and good fishing, “Whales breaching and blankets of sand eels…  tossed a jig in and got hit right away.” It was a good one! Another angler Justin Swanson was fishing the same area reiterated the bite was on, “We got out there early and it was game on! Only three boats working the area and we were all into fish. By 9am more showed up and came in.  I stayed on my original morning’s mark and had action the whole time.”

Our Penn Reels sales rep Jim O’ was out at the canyon recently and smoked ’em! “We got 15 yellowfin!”

Jim Perkins recent offshore trip was a success. He and crew hauled in three big eye tuna up to 130 punds!

Dan Rosetto reported a great day offshore with the boyz with both mahi and yellowfin in the box!

Fish Head Charters

I had Jake and Joe aboard for a Monday morning charter. We started off with a productive light tackle dawn patrol fishing small plugs (mostly Daiwa SP Minnows). Fish Heads introduced Jake to striped bass putting him on his first. After catching a few linesiders and some bluefish (up to 5lbs) we switched gears and headed off to a local reef. Our first drift produced a couple short fluke and two keeper sea bass. Our next drift a keeper fluke and another keeper sea bass. Then it slowed down. We fished a couple hours and headed in. Others in the area reported good things early too.

Today (Tuesday) Fish Head regular Bob Bruns was on deck for an early morning fly fishing session. It turned out to be one of the best morning’s of the summer. Consistent action all day with both striped bass and bluefish hammering the fly. Clousers, deceivers and epoxy fly foil anchovies all made by yours truly! It was game on. Catching on double digit striped bass on the fly in August with not another boat around is a special day.

Today August 4th was the 24th Annual Jersey Coast Anglers Association Fluke Tournament. We had 19 boats fishing “Port Long Beach Island” and 12 of them check in fluke. The common feedback from all was “a rough and sloppy morning.”

Most of the anglers reported fishing in the ocean at the local reef sites such as Barnegat Light Reef, Little Egg Reef and the Garden State N&S Reef. A few boats fished the ocean’s open sand bottom lumps. Some stayed in the bay working the more calm protected waters.

Our Port’s largest fish was caught by Kevin Cliver of Sellersville, NJ. His 27″ 8.64 pound fluke ate a live minnow near Barnegat Inlet. Kevin reported catching few fish but the one was quality. Looking back at past year’s log we found Kevin won the JCAA Port LBI in 2015 with a 6.82 pound fluke.

Final Results For The 2018 JCAA 24th JCAA Fluke Tournament – Port: LBI

Congrats to all of the angler who fished! We are all hoping for better weather next year.

Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association Fishing Report

by Jim Hutchinson Sr.

The fishing in Beach Haven has returned to normal as clear weather and warm temperatures have become the order of the day once again. Stronger than usual winds are present, but the captains of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association are using their know-how to find fish.

The offshore bite continues to be hot. Captain Bob Gerkens fished the “Hot Tuna” in the Beach Haven Marlin and Tuna Club’s White Marlin Invitational Tournament with a crew of Andres Hernandez, Pete Nork, Erick Pollard and Matt Ruark. Early on Friday three yellowfin tuna to 52-pounds were boated and a little later four big eye tuna were on at the same time. Three of the four were boated at about 90-pounds. Having used up the boats holding capacity, the “Hot Tuna” headed back to dock at 11:00AM, even though the Tournament permitted fishing until 3:30.

Captain Jimmy Zavacky fished the “Reel Determined” in the same tournament and took a fifth place based on his tuna catch.

Closer to shore, the “Starfish” with Captain George at the helm, had a group of seven anglers from Pennsylvania out on a beautiful weather day. The fish were ready to bite, and over 80 fish were caught. The party returned to the dock with nine keeper black sea bass, one fluke and two Spanish mackerel in the box.

Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction” Sportfishing has been spending much of his time fishing the bay and inlet waters with family groups. He has been fighting strong winds but scoring with various techniques to beat the conditions. He had the Winkler family from Pittsburgh out with two young children on a bay and inlet charter. The family ended up boating over 30 Fluke with seven year old Hudson catching a pair of 19-inch fluke and a cocktail bluefish. The Sigillo family from Beach Haven West with three children were out with Captain Brett. They fished a few different areas and released some 71 Fluke while boxing 3 keepers one bluefish. All fish were caught on bucktails.

Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.net

July has come to an end. Let’s look forward to August ahead! Now’s the time to enjoy summer time fishing the waters of Long Beach Island.

The bay, inlet and ocean are all productive places to fish. The main target species are fluke, bluefish and striped bass with a few others in the line up. We now have tog…

August 1st means Black Fish (Tog aka Tautog) is open. The current recreational fishing regulation is one fish a 15″ minimum size length; August 1 to November 15. We have live green crabs as well as tog rigs and jig in stock.

Fishing The Bay

Barnegat Bay fishing is in full summer mode. There’s loads of bait (small spearing and peanut bunker) and small game fish like resident striped bass and small bluefish are having a field day. These fish offer light tackle fishing fun with small lures. Most are some but we’ve seen occasional mid 20″ range to almost legal keeper sized striped bass. Also a few bluefish nearing the five pound mark popped up.

The bay is stacked with snapper blues. These little ferocious feeders are just about everywhere from the docks and bulkheads as well as the bridges. They are even along the sod banks, inlet and surf.

The traditional summer time “day on the bay” shellfish activities are strong. Clamming and crabbing are all great choices. Stop by for assistance in learning how to get out and enjoy the area’s awesome activities. Anyone looking to get out clamming but doesn’t have a boat? Give Captain Greg a call at Fish Head Charter, 609-389-9963.  $50 per person for two hour clamming trips.  $300 four hour up to four people. Quality clam rake provided. Must purchase NJ Shellfish License separately.

Crabbing seems to be at it’s best right now with lots of customers reporting solid catches of nice size blue claw crabs. Most positive reports are coming from the west side of the bay. This should not be a surprise. It’s always far better than the Island’s east side. Island side we have heard good trapping in the less frequented. Steve Taylor of Delran stopped in the shop today and reported having a lot of fun with the crabs. “It was good crabbing with some big ones!” His largest was a monster 7.25″ blue claw! Get out to your honey hole and soak some bait!

Fluke are plentiful but most catches are on the short side. Don’t give up! Work through them and adapt to find the keepers. August is the month where they look to exit the bay and stage up in the ocean.

Fishing The Inlet

David Ho (@symplexfishing) with multi species angler Leo Sheng (@extremephillyfishing) and friends had a good day on the Jetty Sunday yesterday. “We caught 40 fluke today! Some sea bass and bluefish too.”

Grey Colston was on the Jetty today fluke fishing and limited out! “The inlet has been good. I got two 20″ and one 22″ fish among a lot of shorts.” Grey was recently on the surf hunting fluke. There too he also found some keeper size fish using Gulp! softbaits.

Fishing The Surf

On the surf fluke fishing continues strong as the main stay fishery. Anglers share positive surf fishing fluke reports on a daily basis coming from just about every town on LBI. Work the suds using jigs tipped with Gulp! or a love minnow.

Steve George recently weighed in a 20.75″ 3.56 pound fluke that he caught on the mid-Island surf. Steve got it on Gulp! and mentioned he’s also catching kingfish on the baits intended for fluke.

We suggest for those looking to target kingfish… gear up with small hooks and Dyna Bait Bloodworms, BonaFide Bloodworms or Fish Bites. They are all working great and half the price and hassle of live bloods. For live blood worm lovers we are trying to keep them in stock .

Did You Get Your Shark Fill?

Discovery’s Shark Week is over but it’s still shark time here. Did you get your fill?  Get off couch and get in on the real action! It’s summertime and sharks are here in our waters. Some much larger than most want to admit. Surf shark fishing is very good in the bay, on the surf and in the inshore waters. Gear up and get out there.

Michael DeFrance recently sent in this message… “I’ve been in for bait, tackle and advise everyday this week. Finally got what i was after! Thanks guys for a nice big brown shark!”

Offshore Fishing

When the weather allows boats are getting out and finding fish. Mark from the Forked River Tuna Club was in the shop today to get a new top shot installed on his Avet lever drag fishing reel. While here he shared a photo of a recent catch. He caught this bluefin Monday yesterday fishing the middle ground (not inshore, not offshore).

Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association Fishing Report

by Jim Hutchinson Sr.

Although this week has been a bit of a washout with high winds and torrential rain, the boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association were catching fish well before the bad weather.

On the inshore artificial reefs the main attractions are black sea bass and summer flounder. Captain Jimmy Zavacky had the Damiano group out on the “Reel Determined” on a day featuring sunny skies and calm seas. In addition to many throwbacks, they took home fluke and sea bass fillets for fish dinners.

Captain Carl Sheppard had a crew of 14 anglers out for an afternoon of fishing last Friday. The water temperature was a warm 72-degrees and the winds were less than 10 knots. About 70 fish were caught with 10 keeper sea bass and 2 fluke being large enough to take home.

Captain Dave Kreines had the Gray family out on the “Byte Me” for some bay and inlet fishing. The inlet produced only sea robins and a short fluke. Captain Dave headed back into the bay for one of his hot spots where a keeper fluke was boated immediately followed by a good number of other fish.

Captain Ray Lopez had the Kuzcko family from Forked River out for fluke and sea bass in the bay and the ocean plus a 40-pound cow nose ray that took a bait in the bay.  The next day the McPolin group went on an inshore trolling trip and catching some skipjack and three dolphin including a 25-pound bull.

Captain John Lewis had a few good trips to the inshore reefs for fluke and sea bass. The Kaufman family landed several nice sized fluke and lots of sea robins but the highlight WAS a butterfly ray, about 4 feet wide, taking 15-minutes to get to the boat. The Whooley family from Phoenix  had a good day with 4 keeper sea bass and 3 fluke plus a steady pick of shorts and sea robins. Captain John adds that he has made believers about eating sea robin fillets. He says they can be cooked many ways and are delicious.

Captain Bob Gerkens continued his successful trips offshore last week on the “Hot Tuna” with a trip to the 30-Fathom line on a 12-hour charter. The Robertson brothers boated two yellowfin tuna to 35-pounds along with a nice “gaffer” mahi. “Gaffer” refers to the fact a gaff was necessary to boat the fish.

Additional information on the boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.BHCFA.net.

Here’s the fishing report update for Friday July 20th. The inshore, offshore and from shore summer time fishing continues.

Fishing Inshore

Fluke and sea bass is the main game inshore fishing wise. Fishing isn’t the best but anglers are catching. Some captains who know structure are putting catches together.

One of these is Captain Mark from Laura Sportfishing. He’s always on the meat. He’s get his crew’s on good bottom fishing. On a recent trip they boated a 23 lb cod.

The Carolyn Ann III reports, “A slower bite the past two days with mostly shorts and sea robins.”

Fishing Offshore

The 49th Beach Haven White Marlin Invitational is five days away! More info posted below.

The 2018 offshore fishing season has been on fire and it continues on. With poor weather coming, today was the last good weather day.  Those that got the day in really hit pay dirt! A quick look at social media and you’ll be jealous.

Captain Jeff aboard the Reel Innovation reported, “Trip of a lifetime! This one will be heard to beat… going 17 for 22 on bigeyes. We had to stop fishing due to shortage of storage. Big eye tuna were following us for two hours right under the boat as we mohawk them on jigs.” First mate Dan said, “The jig bite was unreal.”

Mike Kelly (store staff alumni and mate aboard the Canyon Runner) reports the tuna bite is on… The 60 maxed out the box with 9 big eyes and a bunch of yellowfin. The 48 caught 14 bigeyes!!! It’s the best it’s even been. Boats are knee deep in big eye tuna!

Fishing From Shore

Summertime surf fishing on LBI is mainly fluke and kingfish with the occasional small bluefish.

Taylor Mitchell from Barnegat caught this junior doormat this morning off the mid-island surf. He caught the 25.5″ 6.18 pound fluke on a bucktail with Gulp!

Steve George puts his time in on the surf and it shows. from a few days ago. : He reports, “Plenty of action on the beach. The fluke are chewing and I continue to find aggressive northern kingfish hitting GULP! baits.

The surf zone is full of big rays. Most of the cow nose variety; however others are around too. Sharks are present and pulling lots of line.

Fish Head Charters

Now back from ICAST and catching up I’ve finally got some time to get back out on the water. I fished Thursday and Friday (today).

Thursday I had Rhonda and Bill from Newton MA for a light tackle fly charter. We tried our best but could not do much because the weed was atrocious! Everywhere we went there was grass. Some patches looked like islands that you could run around on. The crew worked through it and managed to finish the day with one bluefish and one bass. They were stoked so it was a success.

Friday (Today) I headed out with store staffers Kelley and Mike. Made bait quick with two throws of the cast net. With a full livewell of peanut bunker we headed out to the reef. With very few reports we wanted to go take a look for ourselves. On our way out the inlet we came across bass on top slapping bait and small birds were active. First cast and Frezza was hooked up. Shortly after Kelley was on. After getting our fill we point out to the Garden State North. Turns out fishing wasn’t all that. Kelley got a 21.5″ fluke which was the only keeper (one right at 18 went back ). In all we had seven shorts, one keeper sea bass (could of filled the boat if we targeted them) a handful of sea robins. It was fun but we hoped for more. My fingers are crossed for good ocean fluking after this blow. It should be heating up by now.

THE 49TH ANNUAL BEACH HAVEN WHITE MARLIN INVITATIONAL

The oldest White Marlin Invitational fishing tournament in America kicks off on Tuesday, July 24th and runs through Saturday, July 28th. Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club’s White Marlin Invitational Tournament (WMIT) enters its 49th consecutive year building off the success of 2017’s
tournament, and represents some of the finest offshore fishing in the Northeast while playing host to hundreds of offshore enthusiasts, spectators, guests and the public enjoying the festivities at the Beach Haven
Marlin & Tuna Club. A first class tournament in a first class way!

2018’s tournament honors and respects the heritage of this storied event, while maintaining the format changes introduced in 2017 in response to prior year’s participant feedback. The two most significant changes, which are in-place again for 2018, were well received by tournament participants in 2017. First, and perhaps most importantly, the tournament added a day. The tournament for many years was fish two of three days, but that can be bruising to run offshore on back-to-back days if the seas are sporty, so the registration and captain’s dinner were moved to Tuesday and made the fishing a pick of two of four days between Wednesday and Saturday. Secondly, a second weigh station was added at Hoffman’s Marina in Brielle to encourage boats in Northern NJ to participate. Last year there was a Nor’easter during the second half of the tournament, but 6 great boats fished the WMIT from the /Brielle Manasquan area including Crisdel, The Right Place, Let it Ride, Placid C’s, Goin in Deep and Jersey Nutz, who was the overall winner in 2017.

While significant payouts ranging from $100,000 to $500,000 are very much a part of the tournament for catches of white marlin, blue marlin, tuna, wahoo, and dolphin, there is also a treasure chest payout of up to
$23,000 which can be won by any participant – regardless of entering the Calcuttas. In addition to the traditional Calcuttas, there are new categories for dolphin and wahoo as well as for boats 29’ and under in size, signaling that the tournament is far from limited to the big sport-fishing boats.

The White Marlin Invitational holds a special place in the annals of offshore fishing history. Captain, sportswriter and BHMTC member Karl Anderson wrote in 2017 about the history of the WMIT: “Many early club members had also been fishing up and down the coast and invited offshore anglers to come to Beach Haven to sample the good fishing. Awaiting them was a nice clubhouse, great meals each night and good camaraderie with a group of dedicated offshore fisherman.” The WMIT is, in many ways, different than the larger White Marlin Open and The Mid-Atlantic tournaments. “I hear from a lot of White Marlin Invitational participants that they fish the WMIT year-after-year because they love the camaraderie, the fishing can be excellent in late July, and there is something special about the atmosphere at the Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club after coming in from a great day offshore”, added Dave Ridley, tournament director. “This is not to take away from the WMO or MidAtlantic, as those are both very successful, well run tournaments that we hold in high regard; however, they have the infrastructure to handle hundreds of boats, while we are a non-profit club with more limited funding, so we are happy to have 50-75 boats participate.” The BHMTC has hosted as many as 105 boats in the WMIT in the years before Sandy, but that was the far upper limit of what the BHMTC can handle logistically, and we don’t strive to be the biggest tournament – we just want to put on a great event year after year that offshore fisherman from up and down the east coast circle on their calendars as part of their tournament fishing circuit as a “must-fish”. “We also love that the WMIT is the last week in July (July 24th – July 28th in 2018) since many participants have told us they love fishing the WMIT, followed by the White Marlin Open two weeks later, and finally the MidAtlantic two weeks following that. “It’s the triple-crown of fishing in the Northeast, added Ridley.”

With over 20 boats preregistered to date, the WMIT committee expects to have over 50 boats fish this year. While there was a year or two where we had about 100 boats, there have been two fairly significant challenges in recent years which have taken a while to climb back from. First, super storm Sandy totaled our clubhouse in Beach Haven, which is where we have hosted the tournament since the start. Even without a clubhouse, the BHMTC still hosted the event successfully the year following Sandy. Through the dedication and time of our members, a new clubhouse was built a few years ago. The second significant challenge had been navigating Little Egg Inlet’s heavy shoaling, which kept a number of larger boats away. However, this winter, the inlet was dredged so we hear many of the larger boats are returning to the WMIT. To have a mile-long, 350 foot wide, and 29 feet deep inlet freshly dredged inlet is huge, added Ridley.

Additional information is available on the tournament website (www.TheWMIT.com) In-person registration will take place at the Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club on Tuesday, July 24th at 6 pm followed by the captain’s meeting and dinner. On Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday (July 25-28th), the BHMTC is open to the public and free of
charge so spectators are encouraged to come down to BHMTC to watch weigh-ins between 4:30-8pm daily, enjoy an adult beverage at the cash bar, get a bite to eat at the food trucks, buy tournament merchandise, or
just bring friends and family down to watch the fish weigh-ins.

The WMIT is possible in part due to the generosity of our platinum sponsors including United Rentals, Morrison’s Marina, South Jersey Yacht Sales, Jersey Cape Yachts, Construction Risk Partners, Marine Max, Fisherman’s Headquarters and Mack Boring.

2018 WMIT – Schedule of Events

Tuesday, July 24, 2018

(Reserved for Tournament Participants and Sponsors)
6:00 PM – 8:00 PM – Registration in Person – Beach Haven Marlin & Tuna Club (BHMTC)
8:00 PM – Captain’s Meeting and Dinner – BHMTC
Live music – Garage Kept Band
Double Nickel Brewery

Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Fish Day Option 1
Scales open at BHMTC & Hoffman’s Marina from 4:30 PM – 8PM
Food Truck and drinks available at BHMTC
Live music

Thursday, July 26, 2018
Fish Day Option 2
Scales open at BHMTC & Hoffman’s Marina from 4:30 PM – 8PM
Food Truck and drinks available at BHMTC
Live music

Friday, July 27, 2018
Fish Day Option 3
Scales open at BHMTC & Hoffman’s Marina from 4:30 PM – 8PM
Food Truck and drinks available at BHMTC
Live Music – Franklin Turnpike Band

Saturday, July 28, 2018
Fish Day Option 4
Scales open at BHMTC & Hoffman’s Marina from 4:30 PM – 8PM
Food and drinks available at BHMTC
Awards Ceremony – Approximately 9 PM
Live Music – Ryan Zimmerman followed by The Pickles Duo

Here’s the Long Beach Island Fishing Report Update for Sunday July 15, 2018.

With summer in full swing Long Beach Island is popping. The beaches, streets and waterways are busy so now’s the time to push offshore and away from it all and into a different kind of mayhem! This season’s offshore bite has been one for the book and it’s not even mid season yet. The yellowfin action is off the charts good and it continues for so many boats.

The boyz aboard the Reel Innovation are on the meat again. Yesterday they returned from a solid trip out at the Hudson. First mate Dan reported they got into great fishing and just about filed the boat, “Unfortunately we dropped a big yellowfin but it was a great trip.” Other boats in the area were also into fish. Word has it some big marlin were caught and some whites showed too. The boys on the Jersey Nutz had a visit from whitey visit on their last trip. Another solid offshore report came in from the guys aboard the Five Seas, “Epic day (Friday) we crushed the yellowfin and went two for three on big eyes! A customer in the shop today reported good fishing in the Lindy to Spencer, “There were lots of squid boats working in the area and we had good fishing with yellowfin and white marlin.”

Bruce DeRite was offshore yesterday today and reported, “Caught two bluefin out at Lemkes. Then on the way in we stopped on a weed line and picked up a nice mahi.” Bruce hung it at he shop and it turned out to be 16 pounds.

Dan Rosetto was offshore and found fish on Chatter Lures. He reported, “Football season was in full effect today. We fished the Lindy and had lots of 20 pound football sized tuna.” Dan sent in this photo! Thanks for representing with the Fish Head appeal!

Long Beach Island Surf Fishing

Surf anglers on Long Beach Island fishing during the day have lots of swimmers and foot traffic to deal so the best times are morning and afternoons to avoid the midday congestion. Anglers are catching kingfish and fluke during the day time. Cow nose rays are cruising the surf. A total hindrance to those seeking table fare, but they do offer fun for those seeking catch and release fun. Beach shark fishing is strong with both sandbar sharks and sand tigers present.

As always, the Barnegat Inlet has life. Anglers can find the occasional bluefish and resident striped bass, but most are targeting fluke. Late July and August the Inlet offers some of the best fluke fishing. Every year during this time we hear about a couple doormats. Some spear fisherman are reporting triggerfish but rod and reel reports for them have been slow.

Fluke Fishing

Conner McKenzie from New Egypt got a nice 22″ fluke this weekend. Anglers are putting in time and finding fish but from all the reports we’ve heard not many are lighting it up. Most anglers in the shop report average 8-12 shorts to one keeper.

Mike at Montauk

Store staffer Mike Frezza took a recent trip out to Montauk with his Dad. They fished Thursday and Friday aboard the Hampton Lady. Mike reported, “Fishing was slow but most were quality fish. The second day was best. I won the pool with this one. It went for a Glow Spro Bucktail tipped with a Gulp Pink Shine Grub.”

Barnegat Bay Crabbing

Crabbing is good! Nick Rossi and Jacoby Cline stopped in the shop this weekend and reported good fun crabbing. They got a monster jimmy! A 7.25″ one at that. Those looking to enjoy some time on the water catching these tasty critters should stop in. We’ve got all of your supplies for catching blue claw crabs as well as advise to get you in the game. From hand line and dip net to pots, traps and bait… we’ve got you covered!

Beach Haven Charter Fishing Associations Fishing Report Update

by Jim Hutchinson Sr.

The boats of the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association have been pretty much concentrating on fluke along with black sea bass on the inshore wrecks and artificial reefs. In addition, one captain made his way offshore for some good results on tuna fish.

The boat “Star Fish” has been fishing daily with good catches of sea bass and fluke. One day rods bent with over 100 fish in less than 4 hours. Keepers are mixed in with lots of short fish. One day Captain George and mate Marlyn fished with a family group of five from Harvey Cedars. The day’s highlight was when Marissa and her father Louis used teamwork for the largest sea bass of the season. They both hooked at the same time and reeled their lines in together.. When the fish was brought up, it had the hooks from both anglers in its mouth. The fish measured 18-inches.

Captain Gary Dugan on the “Irish Jig” reports fluke fishing as being very good lately in the ocean on the local lumps and reefs. In addition to the good catches of fluke and sea bass, his anglers have been enjoying looking at the sea creatures such as sea turtles, dolphins, and sharks,

Captain Brett Taylor of “Reel Reaction” Sportfishing has been averaging over 25 fluke a day on his bay trips with a handful of nice keepers each day. He had return client Ryan Hathcock, his wife Eliana, and friend Archie Glover with his 9-year old son Zavion on a 4-hour trip. Despite wind vs tide conditions, they found some cooperating fish and the crew ending up catching close to 30 Fluke with two nice keepers of 22-inches. Another trip he had Dave Rowan, his daughter Ashley Coleman, and her two boys Dylan and Andrew on a bay trip for fluke. The trip was about putting the boys on fish. They worked quite a few areas, and the foursome boated over 30 fish with 2 nice keepers of 21 and 22 inches.

Captain Bob Gerkens took the “Hot Tuna” on the 90-mile run to the Baltimore Canyon. Weather conditions were excellent as the boat was able to cruise at 25-knots in both directions. The group of anglers had a good day of fishing as four yellowfin tuna were boated. Captain Bob added that he has also been getting some good reports of bluefin tuna.

Additional information on the Beach Haven Charter Fishing Association can be found at www.bhcfa.net

We had a surf fishing report sent in from Tom of Beach Haven Park…

Lots of small fluke in the surf! I picked up eight yesterday (Monday) and six more this morning (Tuesday). They were all between 12-17″ so no keepers. All caught on Gulp! Had to pack it up and leave today when the rays moved in at low tide.

ICAST 2018